LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 51 - Even a child wouldn’t do that, let alone a mage.
Chapter 51 Not even a child would act that way, let alone a magician.
Whiiick—
As soon as Yvonne was declared unable to continue, the referee immediately blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.
The match didn’t last long.
Neither side needed to be sent to the infirmary. However, the process had been intense, leaving the spectators in a hushed silence.
“Wow….”
That silence was broken by someone’s small exclamation.
That was the beginning.
One by one, members of the Magic Department stood up and started clapping.
Like a ripple turning into a wave, it spread and soon turned into a giant tidal wave.
Waaaaaah─!
A belated roar of applause swept over Flan. He frowned, trying to leave the arena.
“Flan, Student Flan!”
Sephia. She burst into the arena, accompanied by a crowd of reporters.
“W-W-W-Winning!”
Her eyes were wide open as she rushed up to Flan.
“You won! You really won!”
“….”
Her shouting at close range naturally caused Flan’s expression to harden. Sephia quickly pulled out a bundle of papers from her bag.
“The Magic Department won the first event of the Sword Demon Emperor! Oh no, there’s so much to ask! Oh, right. First of all… When did you learn summoning magic?”
“Feels like decades ago.”
Sephia jerked her head back in surprise.
Flan realized only after speaking that he had misspoken.
“D-Decades? Does that mean you awakened to summoning magic as soon as you were born?”
“It’s a joke.”
She jumped like a frog in boiling water.
“Oh, really! You scared me! I almost believed you!”
“I’ll be going.”
Flan had much to think about and much he wanted to contemplate. And even more things to do.
First of all, Yvonne’s final strike had a circuit form he had never seen before.
Whether it was truly unique or not. He would only find the answer through research.
If it truly was unique… Could the same effect be achieved by using various spells?
If so, how? There was much to explore.
But then Sephia’s urgent cry reached his ears.
“Wait, wait a moment, Student Flan! You need to follow tradition!”
“…Tradition?”
“Yes, tradition!”
Sephia nodded eagerly, handing Flan a stick. Her face was full of anticipation.
“You need to say a few words in front of everyone. Is there any tradition more enduring than this?”
Flan stared at the stick.
The structure was simple. It seemed to only have a sound amplification effect.
Sephia, excited, continued.
“Please say something quickly. Everyone is waiting for you to speak. That includes me.”
“Something to say….”
He looked around the audience.
The students of the Magic Department were still filled with joy.
The cheers inside the arena showed no signs of subsiding, with some students even embracing each other.
In the distance, the Knight of Flickering Flame, Scarlet, was also quietly watching Flan.
Seeing such a sight made words form that hadn’t been there before.
Flan roughly scraped the stick against his sleeve.
Zzzzzt—!
Immediately, a harsh noise filled the arena. The students in the audience winced and covered their ears.
As silence returned to the center of the arena, Flan spoke.
“What are you so happy about?”
Confusion began to spread across everyone’s faces.
“When the sun rises in the morning, do you clap? When the moon rises in the evening, do you cheer?”
The arena fell silent. Flan’s voice echoed heavily.
“Not even a child would act that way, let alone a magician.”
His sharp gaze swept across the audience.
“Just nod your heads once, and let that be the end of it.”
After calmly saying this, Flan turned his gaze towards Scarlet of the Judith Family.
Scarlet folded her arms and tilted her head. She still couldn’t understand what Flan was saying.
Flan didn’t avoid her flickering eyes. Instead, he stared back at her intently.
“It’s only that much of an event for a magician to defeat a knight.”
With that, Flan turned around.
How foolish of a face Scarlet made… He planned to ask her directly the next time they met.
But then, at that moment.
Waaaaaaah—!
The once silent arena exploded into a roar of applause, even louder than before.
“…?”
Flan slightly turned his head back.
The dazed students of the Knight Department, the even more excited students of the Magic Department, the pure cheers and applause full of joy….
All that intense energy was solely directed at Flan.
“I can’t understand it.”
Shaking his head, Flan began to walk away.
As he left, reporters began to follow him in droves.
“P-Please wait! Student Flan!”
“Student Flan!”
“If you don’t mind, could I ask just one question?”
Somehow reminded of the previous world, Flan quickened his pace.
◈
“….”
Professor Audrey stared blankly at this unbelievable scene.
“We won….”
After muttering those words, Audrey turned her gaze to the Dean.
“Dean, we… won!”
“Yes. I saw it clearly.”
Conette nodded slightly with a satisfied expression.
“This is… unbelievable. Dean, did you see Student Flan’s magic?”
“Let’s save the magical discussion for the meeting. First….”
Conette gestured towards the other professors with her eyes. Audrey quickly followed her gaze.
“…Look at them.”
At the end of her gaze were Brody and the professors who had vehemently opposed this.
They all had the same expression.
One of utter disbelief, as if they had lost the ability to speak.
“They all look completely stunned. Well, it’s understandable.”
“Let’s fully take in this sight. For now, that’s enough.”
As if to savor the moment, Conette took a slow, deep breath.
“Professor Violet will have plenty to say at the meeting today. I’m already looking forward to it. But… wait a minute….”
Conette looked around.
One of the professor’s seats was empty.
“…Where is Professor Violet?”
“Oh, that’s… over there….”
Audrey awkwardly smiled and pointed to the front of the audience.
In the front row of the audience, far away.
“….”
Clutching her removed pointed hat, Violet wore an immensely pleased smile.
◈
Evening, in the first-year cafeteria of the Magic Department.
Bang!
A student kicked open the cafeteria door.
The sound was so loud that all the chatter immediately died down, and everyone turned to look at him.
“Huff, huff….”
The boy was panting heavily.
His face was drenched in sweat, but he didn’t even think to wipe it off. Both of his cheeks were flushed, as if he had been drinking.
And then, in the next moment….
Siiick.
The boy grinned brightly, revealing his teeth. He looked around with a glowing smile and slowly began to speak.
“As you all know! In the first event of the Sword Demon Emperor, in the battle….”
He paused slightly and pulled out a folded paper from his chest.
With a flick, he unfolded it using telekinesis and declared.
[ Magic Department Wins the Battle Event by a Landslide, Victory After 20 Years ]
“The Magic Department has won!”
At the same time, an explosive reaction erupted.
“Yaaaahhhhhh!”
Becky jumped up from her seat and shouted with joy. Thanks to her, Louis ended up with his overturned tray on his head like a hat.
Louis had encountered Becky a few times before.
He remembered her as someone who was always wary of other students, but this was the first time he had seen her this happy.
“Hahaha….”
But even though his food was spilled, Louis couldn’t help but laugh first.
It was only natural. How could anyone be angry in this situation?
From the moment they were born as magicians, they gradually realized they would have to live in submission to knights.
How daunting is it to know that no matter how long you walk this path, you’ll never surpass certain people?
But the Magic Department had won. The dark and narrow space had suddenly brightened and opened up.
The light they felt for the first time was so bright and warm. Would other students feel any differently?
Flan.
All of this was solely because of him.
‘It was Yvonne’s swordsmanship, wasn’t it?’
Magicians use magic, knights use swordsmanship.
This had always been the most distinct way to explain the difference between magicians and knights.
Because their differences were clear, magicians and knights walked different paths and couldn’t understand each other….
‘The Knight Department must have been completely turned upside down too.’
What Flan had shown this time.
Replicating Yvonne’s swordsmanship wouldn’t just shake up magic, but also the very foundations of swordsmanship.
Flan, who had lit the fuse, was a figure Louis found endlessly fascinating and intriguing.
He didn’t know what kind of explosion would occur, but one thing was certain: it would be huge.
“Hurrah! But how did we win? I still don’t understand how we won.”
“Swordsmanship… did he replicate it? How’s that even possible? There weren’t any artifacts or scrolls.”
“And the opponent was Yvonne. The one and only Yvonne in the first year!”
The cafeteria had been like this from the beginning.
A whirlwind of joy over the victory and curiosity about Flan swirled around like a storm.
The professors were in chaos in their own way, so today, there was no one to calm the students down.
Because all these factors had come together, no one in the cafeteria, which was meant for dining, was actually eating.
Thinking of Flan, Becky suddenly
grabbed a spoon.
She brought it close to her mouth and placed one hand on her hip. The scene from earlier wouldn’t leave her mind.
Without realizing it, she muttered to herself.
“…Just nod your head once, and let that be the end of it.”
She thought she had said it quietly to herself, but it seemed loud enough for those around her to hear.
The girls next to her burst into laughter.
“Pfft! Becky! That was nothing like him!”
“Wow~ Were you trying to imitate Flan just now?”
Even with Becky’s clumsy impersonation, everyone clapped and laughed.
“W-What? You heard that?”
Her face turned as red as if it were about to explode.
Some of the commoner girls even hugged Becky as if she were a doll.
“H-Hey…. G-Go easy….”
“We won! The Magic Department won! I have no idea how we won, but we did!”
“Ugh….”
Becky’s face began to turn pale, but the girls’ embrace only grew more intense.
However, even in this moment of collective joy, there was someone whose expression was sour.
A girl silently picking at her food, Hailey.
“Hailey. Are you okay?”
Louis, wiping the food off his uniform, approached her. Hailey hastily forced a smile.
“Ah, yeah?”
“I was wondering if you were sick. You’ve been looking so bad, and you don’t seem to be eating properly.”
“Oh….”
Hailey put down her chopsticks and pressed her hand against her chest.
She couldn’t describe it.
An indescribable frustration weighed down on her chest.
“It’s nothing. My stomach just feels a bit off.”
“Oh no, of all times, you’re sick? That’s too bad, on such a great day.”
“…A great day?”
“Yeah. A great day. Flan won against Yvonne.”
Louis nodded with a smile. He was purely happy about the situation.
Flan won against Yvonne.
Even as she silently repeated it to herself, Hailey couldn’t believe it. Even though she had seen it with her own eyes.
“Hey, Louis.”
Unable to quell her frustration, Hailey spoke up.
“Are you okay with it? You were originally supposed to be the representative.”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Louis nodded easily.
“After watching today’s match, I’m sure of it. Flan was the right choice as the representative.”
His words hit Hailey like a hammer.
“The more I think about it… the more amazing it seems. He suggested changing the selection criteria for representatives, and in the end, he proved it with results.”
“….”
“I’m even planning to ask him to teach me some magic later. I need to learn as much as I can from someone so impressive.”
Before she knew it, Hailey had a dazed look on her face.
She had given up something to approach Louis, but it turned out that what she had given up was greater than Louis.
—You must do the same.
Suddenly, Flan’s words echoed in her ears. Only now did she begin to understand what they meant.
What should she think when she thinks of Flan, what expression should she wear when she meets him, what should she say….
Suddenly, all of that became unclear.
“I’m leaving now.”
“Oh, okay. You said your stomach hurt. Go rest.”
Without properly saying goodbye to Louis, Hailey quickly left the cafeteria.
She walked. And walked again.
Finally, as she was passing by the library.
“…!”
Hailey’s fingertips trembled without her realizing it. She had spotted the person who had turned the Magic Department upside down.
Flan.
He stood still, browsing through books.
His sharp gaze skimming over the pages was all it was, yet the scene itself was like a painting.
Even the small, simple act of turning a page with his fingers was filled with elegance and grace.
His red eyes were also incredibly serious and profound.
While the storm of the Sword Demon Emperor was sweeping through the Magic Department, the one who caused it remained composed and noble.
Like the eye of the storm.
No, no.
This can’t be.
This isn’t right.
It shouldn’t be like this.
‘You’re Flan.’
The Flan Hailey knew wasn’t like this.
He couldn’t be like this.
Every time Flan turned a page, Hailey’s shoulders trembled as if he might turn to look at her.
Unconsciously, she swallowed hard.
Should she greet him first, say a light word of congratulations, or at least approach him and strike up a conversation….
Even as her mind threatened to burst with thoughts.
“….”
Flan silently continued turning the pages.
He had no interest in Hailey. Not even a little.